36% of U.S. to have HDTV next year: report

New York (NY) - The latest prediction from the Consumer Electronics Association is that 16 million HDTVs will be sold this year, increasing the total number of sets to over 50 million.

According to CEA, 36.5 million high definition TVs are already in US homes, accounting for about 30% of nationwide households. The trade group expects that number to rise to 52.5 million, or 36%, by 2008.

CEA has reported in previous surveys that the majority of HDTV owners are pleased with their set, but many of them are still confused about the differences between actual HD content and content that’s upconverted from a standard definition source.

The newest CEA report also showed that 66% of people who receive over-the-air HD content get it through a cable operator, 27% via satellite, and 8% from an HD antenna.

CEA also found that 30% of HDTV owners own more than one HDTV, and around 5% receive HD content from both cable and satellite.